Machine for cutting the lips of heel-blanks.



G B. GROVEE. MAGHI NE POB-BUTTING THE LIPS 0F HEEL BL ANKS.

' APPL'IOATIOIIILBD AUG. 10; 19Q8.

927, 140. Patented July 6, 1909. I V I ABKEETB-BHBET z.

' I as G. B. GROVER.

'MAGHINE FOR CUTTING THE LIPS 0F HEEL BLANKS.

nymcn'ron FILED we. 1a, 1908.

927,140. Patented July 6, 1909.

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G.B.GROVER. MACHINE FOB CUTTING THE LIPS 0P HEEL BLANKS,

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE B. GROVER, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING THE LIPS OF HEEL-BLANKS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonen B. Gnovnn, of Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Cutting the Lips of Heel-Blanks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine by which heel blanks are cut to forma bevel at the breast end of the seat.

Heel blanks when completed ready for application to a boot or shoe are formed with a concave seating surface which fits the conveXity of the heel end of the boot or shoe sole and are beveled more abruptly near the breast ends. This bevel is called in the shoe making art the lip and is provided so that the breast end of the blank will not lie directly in contact with the shank of the shoe, but will be slightly separated therefrom. If the blank were not so shaped as to leave this space, the pressure applied by the breasting knife in the operation of breasting the heel, after the same has been nailed to the shoe, would press the scrap which is out off during this operation into the shank and leave a depression, marring the appearance and imp airing the value of the shoe. It is for the purpose of avoiding the formation of this in dentation that heel blanks are usually made with the bevel or lip. however, the manner in which the bevel has hitherto been formed in part defeats the accomplishment of this object, for until the development of my invention the same dies which compress the heel blank and form the concavity of its seat have been provided with a lip which forms at the same time the more sharply inclined. bevel at the breast end. As no stock is removed in this method. of forming the lip, the material of the blank at this point 1s compressed to a much higher degree, and. is much harder than in any other part of the blank, so that an excessive resistance is opposed to the passage of the breasting knife, with the result that frequently the pressure of the latter distorts the heel far enough to carry the piece which is being cut off past the slight space which separates it from the shank and presses it against the shank, making the undesirable dent.

It is the object of my invention to enable heel blanks to be made of the shape which is now common, but without having the breast end made so compact as to oppose excessive resistance to the breasting knife and incur Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 18, 1908.

represents a left-hand side elevation.

As a matter of fact,

Patented July 6, 1909.

Serial No. 449,032.

liability of indenting and injuring the shank of the shoe. I accomplish this object by removing some of the stock at the breast of the heel so that the bevel or lip is formed without making the blank any more compact or hard at this point.

More particularly, the object of the inven tion is to provide a machine capable of performing the operation of cutting or gouging stock from the seating surface of the heel blank to make the beveled surface or lip at the forward end of the blank.

In the acconmanying drawings I have illustrated a machine embodying the principles of my invention.

Figure 1 represents a front elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 represents a sectional elevation of the work support and breast gage. Fig. 3 re resents a rear elevation of the machine. l ig. 4 represents a sectional plan view on line 44 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 represents a plan view of the Whole machine. Fig. 6 Fig. 7 represents a vertical sectional elevation on line 77 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 represents a vertical section of the machine on line 8-8 of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 represents an elevation of the work support and breast gage. Fig. 10 represents a perspective view of the completed heel blank after having been subjected to the action of this machine. Fig. 11 represents a longitudinal central section of the heel blank.

The same reference characters indicate the same p arts in all the figures.

Referring first to Figs. 10 and 1]., the general appearance of a heel blank is seen. The blank is represented by 1, the breast thereof by 2, and the surface which seats against the heel portion of the shoe by 3. At the breast end the blank is beveled to form an inclined concave surface 4-, this surface being formed by cutting away the stock at the angle between the breast and the seating surface.

The machine which constitutes the present invention by which the stock at the breast end of the heel is removed to form the lip,

consists of a frame 5 having feet or standards 1 6, a work-supporting table 7, a gage S, a work clamp 9 and a cutter 10. The cutter is mounted upon a slide 11, being secured thereto by bolts 12, and the slide travels back and. forth in inclined. guides 13 on the front of the frame, being held in said guides by plates 14..

The table is pivoted between lugs 1.5 and 16 which rise from the frame, the pivotal bearings being the cones 17 which are threaded through these lugs and secured by lock-nuts 18. The upper surface of the table serves as the support for the heel blank 1, and is located so as to intersect the path of the knife, an opening 19 being left in the tableto permit the passage of the knife. There is a wing 20 which rises from the table beside the lug and is formed with a slot through which passes a locking bolt 21 which is threaded. into the lug 15 and has a head which )inds against the side of the wing and locks the table in various positions. The table can be adjusted angularly by its pivotal axis so as to make various angles with the path of the cutter, whereby the inclination of the lip maybe varied.

The position of the heel blank when placed upon the supporting table ready to be acted upon by the knife is determined by the side gages 22 and 23 and by the breasts or end gage 8. The former gages are adjustable laterally upon bolts 24 which pass through slots 25 in the shanks of the gages and are threaded into the table. They serve to guide the heel when it is brought against the breast gage and locate it so that it will be gouged by the knife at the proper position relatively to its center.

The breast gage serves to govern the amount by which the blank overlies the path of the knife, and is adjustable longitudinally of the table in order to vary this amount, and thereby to make the cut more or less deep. The gage is pivoted upon cone pointed screws 26 between ears 2? which rise from a slide 28 carried by the table, and is held in any angular position by means of the clamp screws 29 which pass through slots in the cars 27 and are screwed into wings 30 attached to the gage. By means of this pivotal adjustment, the face of the breast gage may lie at various angles to the surface of the table 7. This adjustment is provided for the reason that blanks are not always formed with their breasts square with the plane of their seating edges, but vary considerably in this regard, and it is desirable to enable the breast of the blank being operated on to fit squarely against the gage, whatever may be the angle which its breast makes with the seating surface, in order to avoid danger of the heel being tipped up at the rear end when the clamp 9 is pressed down upon it.

The longitudinal adjustment of the breast gage is effected by means of a screw 31 which is threaded into the slide 28 and the shank of which passes through a yoke 32 at the rear of the table. A collar 33 and a head 34 embrace the yoke 32 between them and prevent endwise movement of the screw relatively to the table, the head also serving to turn the screw. The slide is guided to travel in a straight line by means of studs 35 and 36 passing through slots 37 in the slide and set into the table.

The blank is prevented from being lifted while the knife is acting upon it by a top clamp 9 which slides upon a guide 38 which rises above the gage 3. A rib 39 on the clamp is contained in a slot 40 of the guide and the head of a screw 41 which is threaded into the clamp bears against the rear side of the guide. A handle 42 extending from the screw enables pressure to be brought to bear u ion it so that it ma be elam'ied. ti ht ii against the guide and the clamp 9 securely held in place.

From the foregoing it will be understood that angular adjustment of the breast gage 8 is effected to enable the breast of the heel blank to abut squarely against it and make contact with it, that angular adjustment of the table is made to govern the angle at which. the knife acts upon the blank, and

that forward and back adjustment of the breast gage is given for governing the depth of out made by the knife.

The knife is caused to reciprocate by means of a crank pin 43 on an eccentric disk 44 which is fast to a shaft 45 passing through a bearing 46 in the machine frame. This shaft carries tight and loose pulleys 47 and 48 by one of which it is turned by power, and also a hand wheel 49 for manual operation. A connecting rod 50 takes over the crank pin 43 and also over a wrist pin 51 carried in lugs 52 which depend from the knife-carrying slide 11.

A plate 53 having a downwardly hanging lip 54 at its forward end slides in a shallow longitudinal groove in the table 7 and forms part of the surface thereof. This slide partly covers the opening 19 in the plate, and may be withdrawn to expose this opening and give access to the bolts 12 by which the knife is fastened to its slide.

111 the foregoing exposition of the invention, I have described only one form of cutter, consisting in a single reciprocating knife having one cutting edge, but I desire it to be understood that I do not limit the inven tion to the use of such a knife, but contemplate the use of any type of cutter whatever capable of performing the result sought, and declare that any such cutter is included within the scope of my invention.

I claim 1. A machine for cutting a bevel in a heel blank at the forward end of the seating surface thereof, consisting of a frame, a cutter mounted operatively in said frame, a table on which the heel blank is adapted to rest, intersecting the path of said cutter, and agage whereby the breast end of the blank may be operatively positioned relatively to the knife.

2. A machine for cutting a bevel in a heel blank at the forward end of the seating surface thereof, consisting of a frame, a cutter mounted operatively 111 said frame, a support for the heel blank, and a gage whereby the breast end thereof may be operatively positioned relatively to the knife, said heel support being angularly adjustable so as to vary the angle of the bevel, and said gage being angularly adjustable independently of said support to fit breasts of different inclinations.

3. A machine for cutting the lips of heel blanks, comprising a table on which the blanks are supported while being out, a cut- -ter, an end gage against which the breast end of the blank is placed for locating the out, and a slide movable parallel with said table, to which said end gage is pivoted and by which it is bodily adjustable forward and back to vary the extent of the blank which may overlie the cutter and thereby vary the depth and extent of the cut.

4. A machine for cutting the lips of heel blanks, comprising a table on which a complete heel blank may rest upon the edge of its seating surface, a trimmer having a cutting edge mounted below said table to travel on a slant intersecting the plane of said table, an end gage against which the breast of the blank is laced, arranged to locate the blank so that t 1e edge between the seating surface and breast thereof will lie within the path of said cutting edge, and a clamp adjustable toward and from said table above said trin1 mer to prevent raising of the breast end of the blank.

5. A machine for cutting the lips of heel blanks, comprising a table on which the blanks are supported with their seating surfaces next to the table, a cutter, arranged to out off the lip between the seating surface and the breast of the blank, an end gage against which the breast of the heel blank is brought, and a clamp arranged to be brought and held against the tread surface of the blank to prevent its displacement by the cutter.

6. A machine for gouging the seating face of a heel blank at the breast end thereof, comprising a cutter, a work support, a breast gage mounted on said work support, having an upstanding guideway, and a clamp arranged in said guideway adapted to be clamped against the tread surface of a heel blank which rests upon said support with its breast against said gage.

7. A machine for gouging the seating face of a heel blank at the breast end thereof, comprising a cutter, a pivotally mounted work support on which the blanks rest, adjustable about its pivot to vary the inclination of the blanks relatively to the cutter, and a breast gage mounted on said support and adjustable both longitudinally thereof and angularly about an axis parallel thereto to determine the longitudinal extent of blank exposed to the action of the cutter and to fit against the breast of the heel.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE B. GROVER.

l/Vitnesses:

LILLIAn R. MITCHELL, CHAS. D. O. Moons. 

